Hai Lin stood at the school gates, her gaze subtly trailing after Sun Shian as he walked toward the bus. To her surprise, Lingmei was beside him again—laughing at something he said, comfortably close.
I thought she liked Li Zeyan… or maybe I misunderstood?
She shook the thought off, but a strange tightness grew in her chest. Was it jealousy? Maybe. She didn't know.
The final exams for high schoolers had arrived, and the air buzzed with anxiety and sleep-deprived yawns. Students filed onto the school bus earlier than usual. Hai Lin followed, a little later than the others.
She glanced around. Most of the seats were taken.
"Is this seat—" she started asking, but the student beside shook their head and turned away.
It didn't bother her much—until Lingmei, who was sitting alone, slid her bag to block the seat beside her without a word. That stung.
Hai Lin clenched her jaw and walked to the very back, choosing the loneliest seat.
---
When the bus reached the school, everyone started getting off in a hurry. In the shuffle, Lingmei's pencil pouch slipped off and tumbled beneath a seat. No one noticed—not even her.
---
In the exam hall, Hai Lin looked around for her seat. Her name card was right beside Lingmei's.
Why is she in the same room as me? Lingmei frowned inwardly.
Hai Lin simply smiled and sat down.
Lingmei quickly turned away, still preoccupied—but when she opened her bag, her heart sank. Her pencil pouch was missing.
She checked again. Nothing.
Then she looked up—and saw Hai Lin eyeing her empty desk.
Without a word, Hai Lin broke her pencil in half and placed one piece beside Lingmei. Then, she added her spare safety pen.
Lingmei looked at the items, wide-eyed.
"You—"
"Quiet, please. No talking," the teacher warned sharply.
Lingmei said nothing more.
---
After the exam, Lingmei approached her as they walked back to the bus.
"Thanks," she muttered. "For the pen… and pencil."
Hai Lin just smiled again, brushing it off. But this time, Lingmei offered the seat beside her on the return ride.
When they sat down, Lingmei returned the pen and pencil carefully.
Hai Lin opened her bag to keep them in—only for something else to tumble halfway out.
The umbrella.
The one with a familiar scratch on the handle.
Lingmei blinked. "Wait... isn't that Sun Shian's umbrella?"
Hai Lin froze. Her heart thumped stupidly loud.
"No—it's something I bought," she said, fumbling.
Lingmei leaned closer. "That scratch? I did that. Last time. When we were fighting over it."
Hai Lin's lips parted. The lie wilted instantly.
"…He lent it to me," she admitted, her voice soft. "I don't know why, but I couldn't bring myself to give it back…"
She looked away, clutching the handle. "I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing to me?" Lingmei asked, baffled.
Hai Lin frowned. "Because… you and senior… you're always together…"
Lingmei blinked, then suddenly burst out laughing.
"What are you thinking?" she chuckled. "He's my cousin."
Hai Lin gawked. "Whaaat?!"
"Yeah. You just transferred here, right? Everyone knows we're cousins."
Hai Lin's cheeks flushed red. "Oh."
There was a long pause.
Then Lingmei grinned. "Well… I guess we're even now. Right?"
Hai Lin finally smiled. "Yeah."